The present invention relates to an ironing board and, more particularly, to an ironing board having in combination, a frame that allows a person to sit comfortably while ironing, a drying rack and/or a clothes sorter.
Ironing boards are well known. They are used in virtually every household and are also present in commercial laundry rooms as well as dry cleaning facilities. The table or surface of the ironing board is used as the platform on which a multitude of clothing, linens, and other wrinkled textiles are pressed or ironed.
The conventional ironing board includes a table having a smooth top surface and a frame from which the table is supported. The frame supports the table above a support surface which is typically the floor and is generally designed so the there are a series of positions to which the table may be extended. An average ironing board provides for a lowest position just above the ground and extends to a maximum height of about 31/2 feet (106.7 cm) above the ground. The frames are located at a central position on the lower surface of the table so that the overall table is balanced when the article to be ironed is on the table and possible pressure is exerted by the person ironing is also applied to the table. The frames generally consist of two legs that are crossed to form an X in elevational view when fully extended and come together when closed to a storage position. Unfortunately because the frame is centered under the table and is so cumbersome when extended to any of the heights, the person carrying out the ironing functions is generally limited to standing adjacent the ironing board. Certainly, such a situation precludes the person ironing from pulling up a chair and sitting comfortably so that the person's lap and legs are under the table portion of the ironing board.
Furthermore, the conventional ironing board provides no accessories to facilitate the person in performing any additional laundry functions. As an example, for washed articles that must be drip dried (i.e., not dried in a dryer), the person doing the laundry must find and set up a separate drying rack or system for these items. This is particularly inconvenient for most people and is particularly so for those living in a small apartment or those having a small laundry room. In addition, for people ironing shirts or other articles that must be hung by a hanger after the article is ironed, they must once again seek out an additional rack or hanger support so that the article may be hung and not once again wrinkled. Here again, for people living in small living spaces, these additional racks and hanging areas are an unwelcome sight.
In addition, ironing boards typically fail to provide any other features to facilitate the laundry steps. For example, the person doing laundry typically must sort the articles to be washed prior to washing. Examples of this include separating all whites so that they are washed together and not discolored by any bleeding of colors from colored articles. In addition, with the variety of materials used in making garments and other washable items, the garments must also be sorted based on the temperature of water and type of detergent to be used. Finally, many people, particularly infants, require a milder type of detergent used in cleaning their clothes to prevent skin allergies. Here again, these clothing articles must be sorted and separated from other items to be laundered. Generally, the person doing the laundry simply sorts by piling the clothes and other articles onto the floor or into boxes on the floor where they get even dirtier than they originally were. For older or handicapped people, this becomes a major burden as they must bend down to reach the articles and then lift them to put them into the washer. The use of an independent stand-up sorter is also problematic where floor space is at a premium. Even though the ironing board is a predominant and bulky structure in the laundry room which occupies a significant amount of space, no sorter has heretofore been provided with an ironing board to facilitate these operations.
Therefore, there is a need for an ironing board to have features that better facilitate the various laundering operations of clothing and other articles. Specifically there is a need for an ironing board to have a construction to allow someone to be able to sit comfortably next to an ironing board so that their lap and legs are unencumbered and still enable the person ironing to have full range of their ironing faculties. In addition, there is a need for an ironing board to be provided with a drying rack and also one to be provided with a sorter. Finally, there is a need for an ironing board to have a combination of the abovementioned features.